The N.S.W.G.R used to run around here, but that was ages ago. Now we have stupid Countrylink. I AM REALLY GETTING SICK OF BLUE TRAINS!

You see, back in the steam age, trains had all sorts of colours, Royal Blue, Black, Green, Grey...

I don't think many of you will have heard of 3801, either. Brilliant loco, currently owned by 3801 Limited, first steam loco to cross Sydney-Perth!

The giant 57 4-8-2's attacted attention as well. They were HUGE! Pity the only one left is rotting away at the R.T.M because State Rail Heritige ignores it.

The litt.lies were good to. Except the TF's. Government mighta thought it stod for 'Trouble-Free'. To railwaymen, this was really Terrible Failures or Total Failures. None moreso them 1174 (now preserved 5461!). It became famous via poetry.

I don't really know much about railways and trains. However my opinion and others in my region will likely agree that ours is quite bad. Anyway some of our lines are quite old and if I'm correct haven't been replaced since the 1960s. Our companies got taken over by a national bus company and what I was told (if I remember) is that some of the trains should have been scrapped or decommisioned (I think he said), but the company has put them on our lines. He said they're worried and spending money on the coaches, but sort of abandoning the trains.

We've had some problem lines and signals apparently repaired, but there's still often faults and failures. One example is a station on the way and quite close to London which often has signal faults and failures.

The last companies bought some new trains a few years ago, but since the take over I haven't hardly seen any .

Down here, railroad travel has been all but discontinued for almost twenty years now. Aside from metro systems in some cities, there is basically no more passenger railroad traffic in my country. But things might change in some years; there's a huge project to build a fast suburban train that will connect the capital with the suburbs; and rumor has it it could be eventually extended to the city of Guadalajara, some 800 Km (500 miles) away. Not much, but it's a start.

For years, railroad travel was the cheapest means of transportation in Mexico, but it was really slow. The geography of the country, with long, tall mountain chains crossing it in all directions, made the travels difficult for the engines (old Niagara 4-8-0 steamers and later early models GE and GM diesel / electrics). As an example, a travel to Queretaro, a city located about 200 Km (125 miles) from Mexico City, took well over six hours or so on train. You can be there in about 2 hours by bus. So the railroad system was just left behind by road transportation and became obsolete, closing down in most of the country in the early 1980s.

Same thing basically happened in Tasmania. It is a shame when a railway system dies like that.

superyo, I really envy you.

Also, it's a pity about steam locos. Even preserved ones can detiriorate. There is a place called Dorrigo here. It's a railway museum, but really those locos would have been better cut up. I went there once, and saw the state of the detirorating engines.

There were powerful AD60 class, now little more then a shadow of it's former self. To a rail enthusiast like myself, to see such wonderful engines rusting away is enough to make you cry.

However, on the other side of the 'restoration chart' are well-cared for engines, whether old like 1210 (1879) or reletivly modern like 3801 (1943), even heritige diesels like Alco's, or as we call 'em, 48 class.

Worst fate is those left for years, uncared for by anyone, lying, sad and alone in the dust and dirt in Europe and India. Forgotten engines, unseen, cold and silent. I remember seeing video footage of South Australian 400 class garretts, standing on a cold, wet day, rusting away. Photographs of Enfield Yards in the late 50's with the majestic 57 and 58 class locomotives making it look like an elephants graveyard.

Sometimes on the way to London we have to change trains or even use a replacement bus like so

For those who can't read the front it says 'On Hire To British Rail'

which at one time was pretty typical due to a fault or something come down or something else. And ours is a main line to London. About 2 or 3 years ago they decided to do some work and chose above all time the school holidays to do it. They were working on the tunnel making major adjustments to it such as widening it. It's the only means of the trains leaving the station from our town towards London. So those coming from the main station in the prior City had to get a train to our station, then a bus/coach, then yet another train.

A few years ago there was a phase of 1 or 2 day rail strikes, which kept happening (anyone in the UK remember them?). We also had the fuel crisis/strikes/blockades (anyone remember those) where they ended up running 'skeleton' services (reduced services). Uh we've had/get all sorts. Before the rail company was privatised it was reknown for trains to never be on time and not to run at anything small such as a leaf, raindrop, snowflake on the line. I even remember an ad (I can't remember for what exactly) where I think the driver braked and screaming "LEAF", because there was a leaf.